Pricey Trash Cans Stolen From City Streets

KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin reports 50 trash cash cans have been snatched off the streets. They are worth about $1,000 each.

“It seems very odd to me that somebody would be running around stealing the cans from the streets of Pittsburgh,” Peggy Ferber, of Pittsburgh, said. “I mean, we need those cans. We paid for those cans.”

The city paid $250,000 for 250 back in 2009. The cans are made of iron.

City leaders are trying to determine why it took Public Works employees almost four months to find out why they had so many missing garbage cans.

Pittsburgh Police are trying to figure out who stole the cans and where they sold them for scrap. The cans are worth about $1,500 to $2,000 at scrap yards.

One Comment

Public Works or Public Jerks ’cause obviously they’re not “on the job”!!! “Out to Lunch”is more like it!!. But let’s not dare fire a union employee!!! Light up another “doobie” boys and let the good times roll. Union’s got your back!!! Oh did I say that??? We’ll (tax payers) buy more trash cans Huh Luke???

A thousand dollars for a $hit can? Only in the city of Pittsburgh are the voters stupid enough to allow this to happen without raising the roof on the city building over it! I’m glad it’s your taxes paying for these ‘elite refuse containers’ and not mine. I grin everytime I see you folks in Pittsburgh taking another hit, you bring it on yourselves at the polls.

More brilliance brought to you by city leadership. Why the hell would anyone spend that kind of cash on trash cans?? Oh wait…..I forgot how easy it is for big gov libs to spend other people’s tax money.

So you think the only alternative to $1000 garbage cans is plastic rubbermaid? You are an idiot. Common sense says that $1000 is too much for one garbage can and common sense says that you can come up with a “classy”, functional garbage can for far less that $1000. What is classy today, however, is to make the most from taxpayer money and not squander it. Politicians do not think in these terms and it will never happen in Pittsburgh. Democrats run the show here and it’s all about more and more taxes and spending your way into the hearts of all unions. People in Pittsburgh are too stupid to realize that unions want your money in their pockets. Period. The teachers say they just want to teach–but will strike if they have to pay an extra $10 a month for their own health care. Bus drivers say they are worried about poor people not being able to get to work without buses, but their nonsustainable wages have ruined the bus system and will strike before they will ever give up the cadillac health plans that most people will never know. You better believe Ravenstahl gave that garbage contract to a buddy. He is as rotten to the core as Rendell and as arrogant. Wake up people!

The big blame to this metal ordeal is trade with China. China will pay the big bucks for the metal. which they also pay a worker very small wages to produce a product. also blame the Big Corp. for sending those Jobs to other countries. If you look for the Deal then Look at where its made… Wake up American. I Pledge………think

@bigdogF350: If you want to blame large corporations for sending jobs overseas, you should also blame democrats in congress for taxing the be-jesus out of corporations. Corps are out to make money – they are a business after all. So when our Govt decides to increase taxes (yes, even with all the loopholes), a business has a choice: stay in the US and make less profit (thus angering shareholders), or take jobs outside of the US (thus angering short-sighted liberals). That’s the problem with my state – CA. California has been increasing business taxes, as well as levying sanctions on businesses, and then doesn’t understand why those same businesses leave the state.

i’m surprised it’s taken this long for them to disappear. with everything else that the mioney could have been spent on – expensive garbabe cans?! come on. there are idiotic people running this city, huh? “city of champs?” how about “city of chumps.”

It all depends on who you buy it from. Special friends of special people get to charge special prices. Here’s a question — did they ever exist AT ALL? Or were they “bought” on paper but never actually purchased?

I am amazed that everyone in the news clip is completely clueless about real life, shocked that people steal, shocked that someone would take something of value off the street and sell. I’m always shocked at the stupidity of people in government and their lack of real understanding of how the world works.

You are correct, but there is more. I manufacture pumps for municipalities. The cost is high because the contract by the city dictates how its made. Therefore, no Home Depot can will work. Example:
I.E. Must be made of solid iron/ forged steel. Must me made of USA sourced materials (this is a govt requirement if funded by Fed dollars). Must be assembled or welded by Union labor (local usually dictated). Must be finished (painted) in 50 year rated coating.

It’s the Chicago way … and the Detroit way. Pittsburgh will look like “Detroilet” soon enough … garbage everywhere and no place to put it. Taking America apart piece by piece ~ slowly and surely until there will be no more great American cities, just huge open sewers. Time to wake up folks.

Aren’t there trash cans made out of concrete? Those would be hard to steal…but I guess those are not aesthetically appealing and wouldn’t be a talking point the next election. “City Beautification Project Champion…vote for me”

Someone is definitely missing the boat here. The city pays $1000 per can and the cans can be sold for $1500 to $2000. Some smart city employee needs to start buying them and then selling them. Don’t waste money handing them to the tax payers. What a terrific money maker with little overhead.

Spend the money on remotely activated 50 cal machine guns that have radar that can identify litter floating to the ground. You probably won’t even have to kill one single guy, just get rid of the trash cans, clean the area once and the publicity alone would render the entire area spotless forever. Plus I think we should outsource the coding to Pakistan.

They problably mean the big dumpsters is my best guess. ( like at apartment buildings where everyone can throw trashbags). This article is misleading I doubt they are ones like you have in your garage.

The US is not only sad, it is pitiful today. It is quite sad how far the US has progressed (lmao @ all of you)- No really, I am. Oh, and by the way, the US will be bankrupt in your lifetime. Which means all of you living of the dole, will lose everything….

So you think the only alternative to $1000 garbage cans is plastic rubbermaid? You are an idiot. Common sense says that $1000 is too much for one garbage can and common sense says that you can come up with a “classy”, functional garbage can for far less that $1000. What is classy today, however, is to make the most from taxpayer money and not squander it. Politicians do not think in these terms and it will never happen in Pittsburgh. Democrats run the show here and it’s all about more and more taxes and spending your way into the hearts of all unions. People in Pittsburgh are too stupid to realize that unions want your money in their pockets. Period. The teachers say they just want to teach–but will strike if they have to pay an extra $10 a month for their own health care. Bus drivers say they are worried about poor people not being able to get to work without buses, but their nonsustainable wages have ruined the bus system and will strike before they will ever give up the cadillac health plans that most people will never know. You better believe Ravenstahl gave that garbage contract to a buddy. The odds that there is no political connection there is nil. He is as rotten to the core as Rendell and as arrogant. Wake up people!

Hilarious, and an excellent glimpse into the bureaucrat mind. Instead of constructing an unmovable, but attractive, receptacle with an inexpensive easy to empty liner they lay two grand on the sidewalks of Pittsburg, and think nobody will steal it. Hello, anybody home.

I checked the internet and found good looking Stone Tec 38-gallon cans of polymer/concrete for $300 for one. Buying 250 of them would bring the price to maybe $220, so that’s $55,000 total, for a savings of $195,000 over the iron cans. And these have no resale value, so nobody is going to steal them. It’s easy.

Here’s a City Clowncil prediction……..”We are purchasing GPS chips to imbed in our remaining garbage cans to track them in the event anyone else steals them.” The chips will cost a few hundred each. They’ll open a department just to track the cans. Don’t you worry taxpayers! They are taking care of BUSINESS!

Dang who let that contract? That much for a garbage can. Mine cost 35 bucks and they are mine…forget about the hammer, toilet seat and mr coffee…go after these wasteful folks immediately. I smell a kickback, a brother-in-law contractor.

Directly or indirectly the customer is paying for it. You’ve been had yet again…are you going to do anything about it?

Here is a large cast-iron trash can for $490, half the price city hall paid. I bet if you bought 250 of them you would get a discount as well. One grand per trash can should draw the ire of voters and an investigation.

KEEP OUR UNIONS!!!!! If the city gets away with spending $1,000 dollars on trash cans, it has nothing to do with a UNION. It has to do with POLITICANS, unions protect us from the politicans. (NOTICE ALSO that the garbage cans have a plaque made with the mayor’s name, lLUKE RAVENSTAHL) secured onto every can. Why was it necessary to add that onto the cans??? Does he think he will be mayor for the life of the iron can?? Insanity spending

I think we are focusing on the wrong thing here. What is truly outrageous isn’t that people are stealing these cans, it’s that the city actually paid $1000 dollars for them! Those cans better be made of titanium alloy and last 1000 years for kind of money….

“City leaders are trying to determine why it took Public Works employees almost four months to find out why they had so many missing garbage cans.”

Really people? We live in this region and we’re going to pretend we don;t know the answer to this is that the public workers are the ones stealing the cans?

I lived in the city’s end for more than 20 years and I can put you together a novel size list of thing I’ve seen public employees steal from the city and distribute to their family and well connected friend. From concrete and asphalt to build patios, basketball courts and redo driveways at their homes, picnic tables and other outdoor furniture intended for city parks and public spaces right, lumber and other building materials on down to road salt and services and a thousand other things in between.

And just trying reporting it and see what happens when the people who are suppose to be responsible for stopping the theft are related to those who are doing the stealing.

I’m not going to comment on unions or the democrats of Western PA, as most of you have written about what a racket both of them are, my only comment is that it won’t matter if you put concrete, stainless steel, copper, or iron trash cans out on the streets of Pittsburgh because our nation’s future just throws the trash on the ground, no matter that there’s a trash can two foot away .. that’s what welfare has given this country.

I’m curious. What criteria was considered to decide on the lucky recipients? Only 250 in a city that numbers in the hundreds of thousands? What special clique received such delightfully expensive trash bins? Some elected alderman’s neighborhood only?

Who is/are the idiot(s) in City hall that would spend $1,ooo each for
trash cans. Iron ones at that? Don’t hey know that someone has to
pick them up and dump them. They could have bought plastic ones
for $25.00

Yep, that’s the city—Paying $1,000 dollars for 1 garbage can. and TOTAL COST WAS $250,000 dollars. quarter of a million. I could live on that for a long, long time. But MAYOR LUKE, ordered them and DID YOU NOTICE HIS NAME ON THE PLATE OF EACH CAN!!! says taking care of BUSINESS, LUKE RAVENSTAHL MAYOR (LOOK ON IT). concrete ones would have been better, (or any other kind) & we are supposed to be “green”, saving money etc. the only thing green on those cans was the color of the paint. SAD

The junkyard is just as criminal as the thieves. How could the salvage yard not know these were city cans with the markings? I think these iron trash receptacles cried out stolen even without Duke Lovenstall’s plaques.

A dimocrat candidate in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County can kill three people, beat his wife, rape a woman, kick his dog, set fire to the church, rob a bank and still get elected by a 3 to 1 margin. 80 years of Dimocrat rule and still going strong. You deserve what you get and more. You want the party of unions and freebies so sit back and enjoy it…..hopefully the next cans will be made of gold.